Dempsey's Digest

Everyone has a story! 

One of the privileges I have in my role is conducting enrolment interviews with prospective families who are seeking to partner with MECS in education. The thing that strikes me in this, is that everyone has a story! I love hearing people’s stories and the way that their stories have somehow, providentially ended up being entwined with the MECS story for a season of their lives. For our Year 12 students, their season as learners at MECS, has come to a close. As I type, our Year 12s are busy writing their English exam. I feel nervous for them, and also hold a warm sense of anticipation as I wonder what their futures might hold. They each have a story, a story that is important. It is my greatest hope, that their story will ultimately reflect God’s big story and their embracing of that. 

The last day for Year 12s was one of fun and excitement. The final assembly that the Year 12s ran, was a beautiful celebration and a lot of fun for the whole school. You should have heard the roar from the Junior Primary classes when Bluey appeared! Check out the photos in this newsletter! 

EGM

It was fantastic to hold our EGM recently and learn more about the association from our current board members. It was also great to hear of budget developments for 2025 from our incoming Business Manager, Rob and our interim Business Manager, Bryan! 

It was a lovely evening of interaction and information. Huge thanks to our board for their commitment and faithful service. 

Year 7 Robotics Team Qualify for Nationals! 

There’s been some great celebration happening in our Secondary School as a few weeks back, our Year 7 students came third place in the VEX Robotic IQ Competition. They then heard the great news that they have qualified for Nationals! So, on 4 December, Mitchell Birkett, Noah Gnensch and Julius Woodany will be heading to Sydney with Mr Ellis and Mrs Birkett to go for it! How exciting for these boys and for our school community. 

Parent Seminar B

A bunch of parents gathered last week to participate in Parent Seminar B, where we took a close look at what a world view actually is and how our world view is shaped. It’s our hope at MECS that we would aim to see the world, through a biblical lens. We also took some time in the seminar to explore some of the research from the very popular book by Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation. Some great discussion took place around how we navigate technology in our own homes with toddlers or teenagers or both! 

Thanks to the parents who attended the evening. 

Year 11 Formal

How wonderful to celebrate with our Year 11 students in their Formal. What a beautiful night of great company, very impressive formal dancing (thanks Year 11 students), beautiful dresses, sharp suits, laughing and enjoying a lovely meal together. I was very impressed with the evening, particularly the conduct and attitudes of our Year 11 students. Well done to you all! A huge thank you to Amelia Koole and the gang (I couldn’t resist that pun, sorry...) for putting together such an excellent night. The article and photos will be in the next newsletter.

World Teachers' Day

I’m not sure if you spotted the sign on York Road, but we unashamedly staked the claim that the best teachers in the world are in fact at MECS. What a great team of teachers we have, underpinned by an equally fabulous support team that go the extra mile, every day! 

People leaving

Although we have announced over the past months people that are leaving at the end of the year, you might not have caught up on who those people are. Of course, we will be farewelling them all appropriately at the end of the year, but in the meantime, here are the people who are finishing in December;

• Janet Anderson – Assistant Principal, Primary
• David Sukh – Digital Technology Teacher, Primary
• Sandy Isons – Co-Educator, Kindergarten
• Veronica Sargeant – Kindergarten Teacher
• Nicky Joiner – VM Teacher
• Grace Sketcher – Teaching and Learning Executive Assistant (& loads of other roles!)
• Carolyn (Cazza) Clyde – Learning Assistant
• Wayne Armstrong (just for a year as he teaches in the NT) – SP Teacher
• Heather Mellow (Newsletter and Publications)
• Josh Vanderveen (IT Services)

We are so grateful for these wonderful people that have served us so well! We’ll hold off on the tears and final farewells for later in the term.

We also have 2 expectant mums in our midst, Michelle Hegarty in our Kindergarten and Megan Cattapan, our school nurse! Megan will be finishing at the end of this year and Michelle will be farewelled early in Term 1. We pray for the Lord’s blessing on these ladies and their families, and we look forward to sharing their news in the new year!